Random Reviews of This and That

Posts Tagged ‘video’

More like have you heard Jypsi. Jypsi is this awesome, young, sibling, bluegrass/country group from Nashville, TN. I first heard them at the Festival in Sandpoint, ID and they weren’t at all what I was expecting from a group described as bluegrass from Nashville. Their young energy carries through into their music and to their onstage appearance. One of the girls had a bright, light pink bob (it was a wig, at least I’m pretty sure), and their clothing was eclectic, colorful, and youthful. I guess I had a stereotypical image of a cowgirl in my head, with her cowboy boots and cowboy hat.

Then when they began singing (they were the openers for Clint Black– I liked them better) my smile spread from ear to ear. Hear them for yourself:

They know how to sing, harmonize, and leave a real, accessible message in their music.

As a post Thanksgiving Holiday treat, my extended family went to see Dreamgirls at the Apollo Theater last night. I never saw the movie, and didn’t know the plotline, so I went into the show with an open mind and ears. I am so glad I did. I went into the show with a completely unbiased opinion and didn’t draw comparisons with Beyonce or Jennifer Hudson.

First off, the show had stunning visuals and vocals. The costumes were bright, fun, colorful, and every bit as festive I would expect a group of three women to be. And there were so many costumes! The costume changes were quick, with as many as three costume changes per song. We were lucky enough to spot the costume designer, William Ivey Long, in one of the boxes. He exuded fashion, dressed in a black tux lined with gold sequins on the collar and wrists. Long created costumes that brought life to the 60’s and 70’s, depicting my dream of that time with vivid colors, patterns, and sequins.

The show used these large rectangular panels to create entrances and exits for the performers and to alter the stage for each scene. But the real treat came when videos were projected onto these panels to depict the location of the scenes. The Dreams started in the Apollo Theater and traveled as far as Paris. The panels were screened with images of bridges in Manhattan, and the Eiffel Tower. With the lighting, these panels created an amazing visual impact.

Only to add to the visual ambience of the 1960’s and 1970’s was the choreography. The dancers were crisp, in-sync, and the steps were creative. There was one dance number that began with four of the leading men and transitioned to including the entire dance ensemble. The performers made a costume change in the dark, on stage, into glow-in-the-dark sequined blue tuxedos and glow-in-the-dark outlined briefcases. The panels reflected their movements and we saw their awesome bird’s eye dance formations. The costumes and the scenery combined to create a stunning visual masterpiece.

This was the first show I’ve seen at the historic Apollo Theater. It was a bit hot in the Upper Mezzanine, what with the heat rising, but the show was worth it. The audience was quite a lively one as well, so that made for a more engaging performance for both the audience and the performers. If only the show didn’t have such a short run (December 6th), I might just have to go again.

We all forget that movies create an ambience not just by shooting pretty or interesting images, or because the actors are awesome, or because they have a lot of money to create special effects. No, the one thing that we all take for granted is having music in a movie. Without the music, we’d be back in the silent film days, and I for one do not want to return to those less… colorful days.

In A Cappella, we rearrange copyrighted music all the time, every group at every single college does. I doubt anybody bothers to ask for permission to perform the music at a public venue, or for permission to change the song! But from what I have read, you need special permission.

Music is art, and the artist wants compensation and recognition for their work. Yes, that makes sense. However, I find it hard to believe that A Cappella groups, youtube videos, and other viral videos actually ask for permission to use copyrighted music in their productions. I am pretty certain there has been no headliner of a story pitting the copyright against youtube or college singing groups. For the number of youtube videos posted a day that use copyrighted music, I can’t imagine the authors are asking for permission to use the music in a public “performance”.

I am baffled by this concept of requesting permission to use a song in a video. It makes sense, we must protect the artist’s right to be creative and make a living out of it, but at the same time, shouldn’t it be a compliment that we find their music to be the perfect complement to our outstanding visuals?

I found this briefing though. I guess the copyrights have finally fought back.